With keyboards in place, Billy Joel finally hitting Rock Band DLC next week

Finally, the Piano Man is coming to Rock Band in full glory next week with the release of the Billy Joel The Hits: Rock Band Edition pack on Dec 14th. Although his presence in the game was announced nearly two months ago, I was hoping the Billy Joel DLC would be out within a week or so of Rock Band 3 hitting retail, not within a week of Christmas. Regardless, the 12-song pack features some hits and flat-out classics that will make any Rock Band player happy and those would-be keyboardists extremely happy (or frustrated if you suck.)

Pricing will be the standard $0.99/80 MS Pts/100 Wii Pts to upgrade any songs to Pro Bass/Pro Guitar if it is supported. For the entire Billy Joel The Hits: Rock Band Edition pack, it will run you a cool $19.99/1,600 MS Pts/ 2,000 Wii Points or $1.99/160 MS Pts/200 Wii Pts per song. Here are the 12 songs contained within the pack:

“Big Shot” X

“Captain Jack”

“It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me”

“Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” X

“Only the Good Die Young” X

“Piano Man”

“Pressure”

“Say Goodbye to Hollywood”

“The Entertainer"

“The Stranger”

“We Didn’t Start the Fire”

“You May Be Right”

THE PIANO MAN BILLY JOEL BRINGS 12 EPIC HITS TO ROCK BAND 3 NEXT WEEK!
Cambridge, Mass. – Dec. 10, 2010 – Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a 12 pack of some of Billy Joel’s greatest songs, featuring awesome piano parts and some Pro Guitar and Pro Bass upgrades, will be available Dec. 14 in the Rock Band 3 Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.

Rock Band provides the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums through the Rock Band music platform, which features more than 800 artists and more than 2,000* tracks via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/songs). Rock Band’s gigantic music library dwarfs that of any other rhythm video game on the market. To date, more than 75 million songs have been sold through the Rock Band Music Store since its launch Nov. 20, 2007.

2011 will mark the 40th anniversary of the release of Billy Joel's first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, and Columbia/Legacy Recordings are celebrating the album release with a definitive reissue project of newly restored and expanded Legacy editions of the complete Billy Joel catalog, newly curated collections of rarities from the vaults, previously unavailable studio tracks and live performances, home video releases and more. Billy Joel’s The Hits, a newly compiled collection of 19 essential tracks, was released Nov. 16, and beginning next week, fans can download 12 of those songs for play in Rock Band 3 with “Billy Joel The Hits: Rock Band Edition.”

For more information on Billy Joel’s The Hits, including how to order, please click here.
Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and Wii
"Billy Joel: The Hits: Rock Band Edition" is a 12-pack of songs that spans The Piano Man’s chartbusters and signature smashes, providing a critical index to some of the most beloved and abiding pop songs of our era, as well as a real challenge to any fan who wants to tickle the ivories. The pack includes hits like “Big Shot,” “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” “Only the Good Die Young,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “You May Be Right,” among others.

As always, songs available as downloadable content for Rock Band 3 feature five-button guitar and bass parts, drums, Pro Drums, and keys, Pro Keys and harmonies, where applicable. Some songs also feature Pro Guitar and Pro Bass upgrades available for an additional $0.99 upgrade download.

(All tracks are original master recordings)
(These tracks will be available in Europe on PlayStation 3 system Dec. 15)

These tracks will be available for purchase as individual tracks, as well as “Billy Joel The Hits: Rock Band Edition” on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and Wii. Tracks marked with “X” will include Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions for $0.99 per song.
Price: $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points) per song

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **
*Available on-disc, via download and disc export. Internet connection and export key purchase required. Wii has more than 1,500 song tracks available for purchase on the Rock Band platform on-disc, via song import, and download. Not applicable to Nintendo DS™.